Several names are called, including "Dario and Judith Wallace," which earns us a round of applause and more than a few curious stares.
"And now, the moment we've all been waiting for. The countdown begins!"
The crowd joins in unison. "Ten! Nine! Eight!"
Dario's arm slides around my waist, pulling me against his side. I look up at him, finding his eyes already on me rather than the tree.
"Five! Four! Three!"
"No pretending, remember?" he murmurs, bending close to my ear.
"Two! One!"
As the tree erupts in thousands of twinkling lights to gasps and cheers from the crowd, Dario's lips find mine. The kiss is gentle, almost reverent, completely different from thepassionate encounters we've shared before. When he pulls back, the reflection of Christmas lights dances in his eyes.
"Beautiful," he says, and I know he's not talking about the tree.
In that moment, standing in the glow of Christmas lights with this complicated man who's somehow become essential to me in less than a week, I face a terrifying truth.
This isn't just sex. This isn't just a convenient arrangement. This is something far more dangerous.
I'm falling for my temporary husband. And December 26th is coming far too quickly.
CHAPTER NINE
DARIO
Judith Mars is ruining every plan I've ever made.
I've always lived by rigid structure, and clear boundaries. I don't do messy. I don't do complicated. And I absolutely don't do falling for my temporary wife.
Except I'm doing exactly that.
I watch her sleeping beside me, curls wild against the pillow, lips slightly parted. Morning sunlight filters through the window, casting golden patterns across her brown skin. It's been five days since the tree lighting ceremony. Five days of her sleeping in my bed. Five days of conversations that stretch late into the night. Five days of discovering every inch of her body, learning what makes her gasp, what makes her moan, what makes her scream my name.
Five days of falling deeper into something I never planned for.
She stirs, eyes fluttering open. When she sees me watching, her lips curve into a sleepy smile that does dangerous things to my chest. "Morning, mountain man."
"Morning, city girl." I brush a curl from her face, allowing myself the indulgence of tracing her cheekbone with my thumb. "Sleep well?"
"Mmm." She stretches like a satisfied cat. "Eventually."
The memory of how we exhausted ourselves last night sends heat pooling low in my stomach. I'd taken her to my playroom, introduced her to the pleasure of silk restraints and feather-light touches that built to an intensity that left us both trembling.
"Eventually is right." I press a kiss to her forehead, then roll out of bed. "Coffee?"
"Please." She props herself up on one elbow, watching me pull on sweatpants. "What's on the agenda today? More paperwork with Silas?"
"No. He's filing everything today. Should be official by next week." I pause at the doorway, taking in the sight of her naked in my bed. Something possessive and primal growls in my chest. "I was thinking we could head to town. Get a real Christmas tree."
Her eyes widen slightly. "A real tree? I saw the artificial one in your storage boxes."
"That's for years when the weather's too bad to get to town." I lean against the doorframe. "Family tradition is to cut a fresh one when possible."
"You really do take Christmas seriously." She sits up fully, the sheet falling away to reveal her bare breasts. My mouth goes dry at the sight. "I wouldn't have guessed."
"There's still so much more to learn about me. I’m like an onion, lot of layers to peel back." The words come out more revealing than intended, suggesting a future beyond our arrangement.
